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Steven Mason
|citizenship = |occupation_or_professional_title = *Response & Restoration Officer (formerly) *Field Operations Agent (formerly)|current_status = Retired|image1 = Mason.png}}Dr. Steven Mason is a retired former officer of both the United Liberators Coalition (ULC) and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who once specialized in mitigating the damage to the environment caused by metahumans. Towards the end of his career, Mason was responsible for retrieving Kaitiaki from Harrison's Island and later educating her in the use of magic. History The Mason family emigrated from Ireland to the USA in the early 19th Century. Steven Mason was born in Silver Spring, MA, in 1958. Academic Life In 1976, Mason won a choral scholarship to The University of Cambridge, which allowed him to pursue a degree he and his family would not otherwise have been able to afford. Rather than reading music, Mason chose to pursue geography instead. In 1979, while taking air samples across the UK and Ireland, Mason met Caoimhe (whom he would later marry), and discovered to his surprise that he was able to activate her Wand. This spurred him on to pursue magical studies. Due to his family's lack of funds, but a glowing degree, Mason signed up with a military scholarship that included magical training, and should have brought him directly to an officer's position in the United States Armed Forces. However, shortly before he completed his thesis (a study on potential uses of elemental magic to discourage smog cloud formation over cities), the Type-III Awakening Incident began. Mason was quickly called away to help quell the chaos. After a few months it became clear to Mason that the government was too crippled to be of much help, and saw to organising those militia groups around New York City as best he could. Liberator As a member of the resistance movement that would eventually become the Liberators, Mason was one of many that attempted to secure, contain and neutralize metahumans. Mason was in New York during the 1988 New York Ice Queen incident, helping to rescue civilians from the affected area. He suffered severe frostbite in one of his legs, which was then amputated and replaced with a prosthesis. His captain and friend, Vherio de Dijon, perished in the incident, and Mason was voted captain of the team in the following days. In the same year, he married Caoimhe, and their son, Jonathan Mason, was born four years later. Mason would go on to become one of the founding members of the United Liberators Coalition. He was awarded his Ph.D. several years late, after the ULC had become established and the chaos dampened down. NOAA In the year 2000, at the age of 42, seeking a change with the new Millennium, Mason was granted transfer to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Though still concerned somewhat with the actions of parahumans, Mason was now more free to pursue his original goal of studying the environment and finding ways to reverse ecological damage through magic. He kept in touch with his old friends in the ULC. Mason was part of the team that discovered the Leviathan in 2002. The new monitoring base took up much of his time and prompted the family move to Hawaii in 2005, after Jonathan had graduated middle school. In 2019, Mason headed a team of NOAA researchers investigating atmospheric and oceanic anomalies around Harrison's Island. He discovered Kaitiaki a year later and monitored her closely. After the 2020 Samoan Incident he made contact with her, establishing a rapport over the course of a few weeks before offering to take her back to Hawaii to recieve an education, as well as to allow the ULC to study her unique physical augmentations. Retirement Mason retired in 2023, at the age of 65. He lived with Caoimhe for a while in Hawaii. Though retired, Mason kept in contact with Kaitiaki and assisted in her magical training. In 2027, he and Caoimhe divorced. In 2029, he and Jonathan traveled with Kaitiaki to see her off to her new posting with Liberators-830B at the Phoenix Complex. He treated this as an excuse to see the complex and, by extension, the rest of the city of San Francisco in a short holiday. Their plane was delayed due to a Pacific storm, leading to Kaitiaki missing the initial briefing. Later that same year, Mason moved to San Francisco, selling the old family home in Honolulu that he had become the only inhabitant of. In 2030, Mason was invited to the White House to witness Liberators-830's reception of a presidential award. He witnessed President Whitmore's shooting and was later taken to the Golden Eagle after complications arose with Kaitiaki's augmentations during the events that followed. Personality Dr. Mason is an old man of kindly demeanor who now enjoys the fruits of his retirement. Respected in his field, he has not let this go to his head. Politically, Mason is very strongly a socialist. He also believes strongly in the development of science, magic and technology to restore Earth's environment (technogaianism) and that all creatures, be they sentient or not, have the right to be free of persecution. His marriage to an Elf of Annwn was something practically unheard of at the time. Though a wizard, Mason is not especially fond of the exclusivity that persists throughout the Wizarding world. Mason has a pathological fear of the cold, likely stemming from his experiences during the 1988 New York Ice Queen incident. Powers and Abilities Powers * 'Wizardry: '''Mason's brand of magic focuses on the affectation of the environment, ideally for the betterment of it. ** '''Elementalism: '''His command of elemental forces of air, water and earth is nuanced and precise, if not expressly powerful. ** 'Biomancy: '''Fitting in with his technogaian philosophy, Mason has studied well into biomancy in the hopes of using it to repair or prevent damage to the environment - such as adapting plants to siphon pollution out of waterways. ** '''Elven Magic: '''Mason is well versed in magical techniques that are largely unique to the elves. Abilities * '''Expert in his Field: '''Dr. Mason has nearly fifty years experience studying, monitoring and managing the environment, as well as combating parahumans. * '''Connections: '''Mason is well-connected with the ULC and NOAA, as well as having friends in high places the world over - including the Elven kingdom of Annwn. * '''Languages: '''English (native), French (good), Elvish (good), Welsh (intermediate), Hawaiian (intermediate), Samoan (good) Equipment * '''Brass Wand: '''A brass wand is much better able to withstand the corrosive effects of storms and sea spray. Mason was given this by his superiors when he joined NOAA. * '''Prosthetic Leg: '''Originally a fairly mundane wood and plastic piece, Mason commissioned a custom-built Magi-tec leg that responds to his thoughts during his time with NOAA. The leg acts almost identically to the real thing. Relationships Family * Jonathan Mason (son) * Caoimhe (ex-wife) Allies * Kaitiaki * United Liberators Coalition * NOAA * Several USAF officers. Enemies * Several metahumans (all deceased) Category:United Liberators Coalition Category:Humans Category:Wizards Category:Liberators